Halo 4 Developer: We Made a Lot of Mistakes, Can Do Better

Only semi-impressed with last year’s Halo 4? Well, the game’s developer, 343 Industries, says the next version will be a whole lot better.

Photo credit: Wired.com

Halo 4 was the first Halo game made by a developer other than Bungie Studios. With Bungie stepping away from the much-loved Halo franchise, that put a lot of pressure on the relatively untested 343 Industries to keep the respected series going strong.

Luckily for 343 and Xbox 360 gamers, most critics believe the developer did a fantastic job with Halo 4. Right now, its Metacritic rating is an 8.7/10.

But 343 Industries says there’s lots of room for improvement. In a recent blog post, Halo franchise director Frank O’Connor had this to say about 343 Industries’ recent effort:

“We have a lot to learn. We made a lot of mistakes. We can do better … And we know this, and we will.”

O’Connor went on to say that there were a “ton” of things 343 Industries wanted to do better with Halo 4. O’Connor didn’t go into much detail, though he did suggest that 343 could have reduced the number of glitches found in the game. O’Connor also suggested there were problems with downloadable content (DLC).

Still, O’Connor isn’t completely bummed about 343’s effort in producing Halo 4. He gave his company credit for expanding the Halo universe and innovating when it came to “storytelling, technology, and even marketing.”

Having played through Halo 4, I’ll agree that it was a solid effort — but by no means the most impressive Halo game we’ve seen. Personally, I found the story convoluted and the new alien race downright uninteresting. Unlike previous Halos — particularly Halo and Halo 2 — I have little desire to play through the Halo 4 campaign again.

But it was an exciting experience while it lasted. And I’m right there with O’Connor in believing that a) 343 Industries did a respectable job taking over from Bungie, and b) that a next-generation Halo for the Xbox 720 will improve on its predecessor.

What do you guys think? Was Halo 4 everything you hoped it would be, or not?